Tübingen

My stay in Stuttgart also afforded the opportunity to visit Tübingen- home to one of the oldest universities in Germany and well known for it's philosophy and theology faculty. Having visited the city I was a bit jealous of those who were studying there, not only because of the opportunity, but also because the city was amazing. Not to worry though, upon my arrival here in Göttingen my jealousy dissipated.

Our first stop was at the Bebenhausen Monastary, which is incredibly well preserved as it remained in use after the reformation as a hunting lodge for the local king. Unfortunately, my success of understanding German for the week failed me during our tour of the monastery so I didn't get to learn so much about the history and practices of the monks who lived there. Despite my lack of understanding I enjoyed the atmosphere it provided and felt as if I could have stayed all day.

An inviting corridors of Bebenhausen

After our trip to Bebenhausen we had lunch, riverside and gratefully the weather couldn't have been better. And I was thrilled to learn that later in the afternoon our group would be riding the river in one of these boats which was perhaps more eventful than one might have hoped for. The long pole used to push and navigate the boat along got stuck in the mud, another boat in our group had a small accident with a paddle boat, and at one point we hit bottom and it took some fancy maneuvering to get ourselves unstuck.

The trees were gigantic!

Redeeming myself from my lack of understanding during the Bebenhausen tour, in the afternoon tour of the city I was able to enhance my German adding to my vocabulary. The sign above is on the temporary residence of Johann Goethe as he passed through town visiting his publishers. It reads "Hier Kotzte Goethe" meaning "Goethe puked here".

The Old Town House of Tübingen

Looking out over the city

Next post: Göttingen!